Machine for proving printing cylinders



July 13, 1937. M. N. BULFORD MACHINE FOR PROVING PRINTING CYLINDERS Filed April 2, 1936 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN V EN TOR.

A TTORNEYS.

July 13, 1937. M. N. BULFORD 2,087,017

MACHINE FOR PROVING PRINTING CYLINDERS 4 Filed April 2, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Ill I; W"

A TTORNEYS.

July 13, 1937. M. N. BULFORD 2,087,017

MACHINE FOR PROVING PRINTING CYLINDERS Filed April 2, 1936 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 I l I IN VEN TOR.

A TTORNEYS.

July 13, 1937. M. N. BULFORD MACHINE FOR PRQVING PRINTING CYLINDERS Filed April 2, 1936 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. fizz/y'ay/K5z/75/d A TTORNEYS.

July 13, 1937, M.,N. BULFORD MACHINE FOR PROVING PRINTING CYLINDERS Filed April 2, 1936 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 IN V EN TOR. jfzz/ra Al al/0rd A TTORN E Y5.

Patented July 13, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Murray N. Bulforl: s. 0., assignor to The Textile-Finishing Machinery Company, a corporation of Rhode Island Application April 2, i936, Serial No. 72,308

16 Claims.

This invention relates to a machine for proving printing cylinders before they are used in commercial production; and has for one of its objects a quick and simple mounting of printing cylinders for such testing purposes.

Another object of the invention is .the-provision of a means whereby the working pressure may be applied to the cylinder for testing or proving the same under actual working conditions before putting the cylinder into commercial production.

Another object of the invention is an arrangement whereby the mounting for the cylinder may be moved to and from working position for easier access to the cylinder and to the doctor blades used in connection with the printing dyes.

Another object of the invention is the adjustment of the supports for the printing cylinder to and from each other or laterally of the machine for the accommodation of cylinders of different widths; or axial dimensions.

Another object of the invention is the distribution of pressure on the roll so that the same will be evenly forced into engagement with the work.

Another object of the invention is an arrangement whereby the carriage with the printing cylinder will be lifted evenly and accurately for an engagement with the work.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a machine which may be used for making samples or for trying out the colors of dyes previously to placing them into commercial pro- 35 duction without tying up the larger commercial producing machine during such proving operation.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certain novel features of con- 4 struction, as will be more fully described, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the complete machine;

45 Fig. 2 is a perspectiveview of the printing roll which is to be tested or proven;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation on a somewhat larger scale of the standard portion of the machine;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the line 4-4 of 50 Fig. 3 showing the arrangement for locking the carriage in working position;

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of a fragmental part ofthe machine on a larger scale with the car'- riage moved from its working to its loading posi- 55 tion;

Fig. 6 is a front elevation with parts removed to better show the arrangement of the cylinder in its working position as shown in Figs. 1 or 3;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view thru the carriage and showing a printing cylinder supported on the 5' rolls; 7

Fig. 8 is a sectional view on the line 88 of Fig. '7;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the member for mounting the rolls which support the printing 10 cylinder.

It' is usual in fabric-printing machinery to set up a machine with some new printing cylinder and-run a length of cloth which is then developed and finished to see whether or not any 15 imperfections show in the printing cylinder because of the same being improperly engraved or otherwise formed or whether any imperfections show by reason of the printing dyes which have been used; and while such tryout is being had 20 a large and expensive machine is out of production with a corresponding increase in production cost. Sometimes sample printing is done in sample quantities on a small machine, in order that the pattern may be displayed for sample 5 purposes. However, engraved rolls or cylinders which are used for such sample machines, are of a size smaller than those used for commercial production and the pressures which are applied in such sample machines are different and sometimes uneven. Sampling or laboratory printing machines are entirely unserviceable for testing out under actual working conditions full sized printing cylinders.

This present invention is a departure from sampling machines in that the full size printing cylinder may be tried out under actual working conditions and thus performed in a less expensive machine and one which affords an opportunity' for quickly mounting and more easily 40 testing out printing cylinders unde'r actual working conditions and pressures than has heretofore beenaccomplished, and yet the manner by which I accomplish this result is so convenient that many printing cylinders or dyes may be tried out in a short space of time without tying up a large and expensive commercial printing machine and the following is a more detailed description of the present embodiment of this invention illustrating the preferred means by which these advantageous results may be accomplished.

With reference to the drawings, l0 designates the spaced standards of the machine, which rests on the floor II and rotatably supports the backing-up drum or cylinder I2 which is suitably work 25 extends rearwardly therefrom which supports various operating parts of the apparatus such as the roll 26 having a fixed bearing in each standard above the drum I2, the takeup units 21 which adjustably support bearings for the roll 29 by means of a screw 30 moved by the hand wheel 33 through the-worms 32 and worm gears 3I. Roll 28 has a fixed bearing mounted on each of the units 21. An endless fabric and rubber apron 34 extends about the drum I2 over the rolls 26, 29, and 28, and is driven by the rotation of the drum I2. The hand wheel 33 may be moved in order that the desired tension may be had on this rubber apron.

The framework 25 also supports the idler rolls 35, 36 and brackets for the drum 3! containing a package 38 of the web material or work to be printed. The drum 31 is retarded by a friction band 39 having a weight 40 hanging thereon. The web material or work is led from this package upwardly as at M over the pulley 35 from whence it joins the apron in passing about the pulley 26, thence about the drum I2 in engagement with the apron, thence over pulley 28 over pulley 29 where it leaves the apron and extends to and over pulley 36 thence downwardly about the idler pulley 42 supported on the frame 25 and about the driven roll 43 to be packaged at 44 by means of the surface drive from the roll 43 by the indicated or any known drive.

This driving roll 43 is suitably driven from the drum I2 as by means of sprocket chains 45 and 46, the former engaging a sprocket gear 41 on shaft I8 and sprocket gear 48 on shaft 49 while the chain 46 engages sprocket gear 50 on shaft 5| and sprocket gear 52 on shaft 53 to which latter shaft the drive roll 43 is secured. The shafts 48 and 5I are geared together by suitable spur gears for transmission of the drive from shaft 48 to shaft 58. Where short samples are desired, they may be attached to the web M by an adhesive tape or the like during printing, or, of course, the web 4| may itself be printed and severed, either of which is the more convenient in operation.

Extending forwardly from the standard III are a pair of tracks 55, supported at one end by the standard I8 and at the other or forward end by a pedestal 56. The outer ends of these tracks terminate in an abutment 51 to prevent the carriage designated generally 58 mounted on these tracks from running off the end of the track. The upper edge of each of these tracks is in the shape of an inverted V 59 with which the pairs of wheels 69 and BI having a correspondingly shaped groove engage to guide the carriage 58 in its movements, the pairs of wheels 6I being rotatable by a shaft 68a to which they are secured in spaced relation to engage the tracks 55.

The carriage consists of a rather heavy bed portion 62 supported by the wheels 68 and 6| upon which bed there is a set of spaced tracks 63 (Fig. 8) slidingly mounting a pair of members 64 (Fig. 9) each of which is cut out as at 64' to receive these tracks 63 and be guided by the tracks 63. In each of the members 64 in the spaced bearing rails 61 there are retesses for rotatably mounting a pair of shafts which support rolls 65 and 66 having rubber outer surfaces. These shafts are held in place by caps to complete the bearing. Abutment members 68 are held in position on the rails by bolts 69 and I8 to limit the endwise movement of the cylinder 81 to be tested. Each of these members 64 is alsoslotted, as at. II. for the reception of a screw shaft I2 which has a nut I3 thereon extending into the cutout or slot I4 in the member 64 to engage the opposite edges thereof so that as the nut I3 is moved along the threaded shaft I2, it will cause the member 64 to move with it. This shaft 12 is oppositely threaded so that rotation thereof in one direction will cause the members 64 to move toward each other, while a rotation in the opposite direction will cause the members to move away from each other slidingly along the tracks 63.

The threaded shaft I2 is rotatably and slidably mounted at one end in a block I5, while at its opposite end it is rotatably mounted in a sleeve 16 and is held against axial movement relative to the sleeve by a collar 11 engaging one end of the sleeve and the hand wheel I8 engaging the other end of the sleeve. The sleeve 16 is threaded as at I8 and threadingly engages the bore of the collar member 89 which has a rotatable bearing in a block 8| mounted upon the bed of the machine. This collar is prevented from axial movement in one direction by a flange 88' and is prevented from axial movement in the other direction by the hub of a hand wheel 82 which is fixed upon the collar member 88 by set screw so that by turning the hand wheel 82, the sleeve I6 together with the shaft 12 may be moved axially to move both of the roller mounting members 64 in one direction or the other, thus by moving the hand wheel 82 both members 64 are moved together in one direction or the other while moving hand wheel I8, they may be moved toward or from each other.

Brackets 85 on the carriage mount the doctor blade 86 which is clamped in a pivoted holder 88 from which the lever arm 88 extends which is suitably weighted as at 80 for holding the blade in contact with the cylinder 81. This holder is also adjustably mounted by means of the threaded member 8| for movement to and from the cylinder 81.

The position of the doctor blade 86 relative to the cylinder 81 provides a trough therebetween for the reception of the printing dyes, a dam of material being usually positioned the required distance apart to confine the dyes within a predetermined area, as is usual practice.

The other doctor blade 92 is held in a holder 83 pivotally mounted as at 84 and moved towards the cylinder 81 by a lever 85 weighted as at 86, for operation in a known manner. This holder 93 is also adjustably mounted by means of a threaded member 81 for movement to and from the cylinder, while the entire structure may be swung away from working position about the pins 88, 88 which extend into the slots I88 and IIII of the holder. The second doctor blade is supported from a bracket I 02 on the opposite side of the bed 58 from the bracket 85.

When the carriage is in the position shown in Fig. 5, the doctor blades, and cylinder 81 are readily accessible. The cylindermay be easily of the wawand resting it upon the rolls 65 and 65 between the abutments 60. After the cylinder/81 has been placed in position on the rolls 65 and 66, the carriage is moved to the left from the position shown in Fig. 5, along its tracks 59, until thelatches I05, which are pivotally mounted upon the bed 58, see Fig. 4, engage the square rods I06. These latches are beveled as at II so that when they engage the rods I06 they will move outwardly against the tension of the spring I00 and then snap into position about the rod as shown in Fig. 4',- asthey reach their proper location. The latches I05 on either side of the-machine'are connected-by links I09 thru a disc IIO pivoted on a support III and are both operated by the spring I 08. These latches are also manually operated from either side of the machine by handles II2 to withdraw the same bracket III from the standard of the machine.

These studs are tapered as at II8 to assure entrance into the socket II6 which fits the stud closely as the carriage is lifted. Also the bed 56 is directly above the plungers I20 slidable in the cylinders I2I the plunger being provided with a leather packing or washer I22 held in position I shaft 6Ia engage racks I3I similarly spaced and secured on the standard so that an upward movement of the carriage will be better directed and an even distribution of pressure afforded on each end of and consequently all along the cylinder.

When the cylinder is lifted into working position a control lever I40 is moved to operate clutch mechanism I II to connect gear II to the shaft I8 for driving the drum I2 and causing the workto travel into engagement with the cylinder and rotate the same the desired amount when the lever I40 will be again operated to stop the machine.

A cap I34 is mounted on the upper end of each plunger I20 and links I35 are connected to the opposite sides of this cap with the lever I36 pivoted as at I31 on the standard and weighted as at I38 so that when hydraulic pressure is released, these weights will cause the plungers I20 to be drawn downwardly and return the hydraulic fluid to the standard I21, and as the same time cause the plungers to lift the weights I28 along the rod I29 where they are engaged by some latch mechanism which will hold them in raised position until again required for applying pressure to raise the carriage.

. I claim:

1. In a machine for proving printing cylinders, pairs of rolls for engaging the outer surface of the cylinder and rotatably supporting the same, and means for moving the pairs of rolls and cylinder supported thereby to cause the cylinder to engage with the work.

2. In a machine for proving printing cylinders, pairs of rolls for engaging the outer'surface of the cylinder and rotatably supporting the same, means for moving the pairs of rolls and cylinder supported thereby to cause the cylinder to engage with the work, and means for moving said pairs of rolls toward or from each other for engaging cylinders of different axial dimensions.

3. In a machine for proving'printing cylinders, means for engaging the outer surface of the cylinder and rotatably supporting the same, and hydraulic means engaging the said means at spaced points for moving the cylinder and work into engagement.

4. In a machine for proving printing cylinders, means for engaging the outer surface of the cylinder and rotatably supporting-the same, means for moving the work and roll into engagement, and a carriage movably mounted in two right angular directions for supporting the means engaging said cylinder, and means for moving said carriage in one of said directions to a more readily accessible position than the working position thereof.

5. In a machine for proving printing cylinders, a standard, means supported thereby for training a web of work material thereover, a carriage movable from a position beneath the work to a position out from beneath the work,

and means on said carriage to rotatably support a cylinder.

6. In a machine for proving printing cylinders, a standard, means supported thereby for training a web of work material thereover, a carriage movable from a position beneath the work to a position out in front of the machine,

means on said carriage to rotatably support a cylinder, and means for raising the carriage and the cylinder supported thereby when in position beneath the work to cause the cylinder to engage the work.

7. In a machine for proving printing cylinders, a standard, means supported thereby for training a web of work material thereover, a carriage movable from a position beneath the work to a position out in front of the machine, means on said carriage to rotatably support a cylinder, and hydraulic means for engaging the carriage adjacent its opposite ends for raising the carriage and the cylinder supported thereby to cause the cylinder to engage the work when in position beneath the work.

8. In a machine for proving printing cylinders, a standard, means supported thereby for training a web of work material thereover, a track extending forwardly from the standard, a carriage having revolvable members secured thereto and engageable withsaid track, saidcarriage being movable from a position beneath the work to a position out in front of the machine,

and means on said carriage to rotatably support chine, means on said carriage to rotatably support a cylinder, means for raising the carriage and the cylinder supported thereby to cause the cylinder to engage with the work when in position beneath the work, and means to guide said carriage to equalize pressure on the cylinder in being raised.

10. In a machine for proving printing cylinders, a standard, means supported thereby for training a web of work material thereover, a tra'ck extending forwardly from the standard, a carriage on said track movable from a position beneath the work to a position out in front of the machine, means on said carriage to rotatably support a cylinder, means for raising the carriage and the cylinder supported thereby to cause the cylinder to engage with the Work when in position beneath the work, and means to guide said carriage to equalize pressure on the cylinder, in being raised comprising a gear on said carriage and a rack supported by said standard.

11. In a machine for proving printing cylinders, a standard, means supported thereby for training a web of work material thereover, a track extending forwardly from the standard, a carriage on said track movable from a position beneath the work to a position out in front of the machine, means on said carriage to rotatably support a cylinder, means for raising the carriage and the cylinder supported thereby to cause the cylinder to engage with the work when in position beneath the work, and means to guide said carriage to equalize pressure on the cylinder, in being raised comprising gears on said carriage and racks supported by said standard, together with a plunger on one part and a cylindrical guide in which the same works on the other part.

12. In a machine for proving printing cylinders, a support, spaced pairs of rolls on said support each for engaging the outer surface of the cylinder adjacent an end thereof for rotatably supporting the cylinder, means for moving each of said pairs of rolls toward the other pair for engaging cylinders of different lengths, and means for moving both of said pairs of rolls together in either direction relative to said support.

13. In -a machine for proving printing cylinders, a support, two pairs of rolls each for engaging the outer surface of the cylinder adjacent an end thereof for rotatably supporting the cylinder, a roll support member for movably mounting each of said pairs of rolls on said support, means for moving both of said roll support members toward or from each other for accommodating cylinders of different lengths, means for moving both roll support members together relative to said support, and means secured on said roll support members for preventing lateral movement of the cylinder.

14. In a machine for proving printing cylinders, a support, two pairs of rolls for engaging the outer surface of the cylinder adjacent the ends thereof and rotatably supporting the same,

roll support members for movably mounting each' of said pairs of rolls on said support, a threaded member for threadingly engaging each of said roll support members for movement toward or from each other for accommodating cylinders of different lengths, and means for moving said thread member axially thereof for moving both of said roll supports together along said support.

15. In a machine for proving printing cylinders, a support, two pairs of rolls for engaging the outer surface of the cylinder adjacent the ends thereof and rotatably supporting the same, r011 support members for movably mounting each of said pairs of rolls on said support, a threaded member for threadingly engaging each of said roll support members for movement toward or from each other for accommodating cylinders of diflerent lengths, means for moving said threaded member axially thereof for moving both of said roll supports together along said support, said means for moving said threaded member comprising a threaded bushing rotatably mounted on said threaded member and secured against axial movement thereon, and rotatably threaded means secured against axial movement on said support for engaging and rotating said threaded bushing.

16. In a machine for proving printing cylinders, a support mounted for movement in either of two right angular planes, means mounted on said support for engaging the outer surface of the cylinder and rotatably supporting the same, means for locating said support in proper position in one of said planes to be engaged by hydraulic means, and hydraulic means for moving said support in said plane.

MURRAY N. BULFORD. 

